AI glossary / How it works

Classification

How it works

Sorting things into categories, such as spam or not spam. One of the most common jobs AI does.

More words in How it works

• Context compactionSummarising the older parts of a long conversation so an AI can keep going without running out of room.
• Data labellingPeople tagging examples, such as marking which photos contain a cat, so an AI can learn from them.
• DatasetA collection of examples, such as text, images or numbers, gathered to teach or test an AI.
• Diffusion modelThe technique behind most AI image makers. It learns to turn random speckle into a picture that matches your description, one small step at a time.
• DistillationTraining a small, cheap model to copy a big, expensive one so you get most of the skill at a fraction of the cost.